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The Pratt Pack

Spencer Pratt, the former MTV reality villain, is surging in the final sprint of the L.A. mayoral race as an unlikely coalition of Republicans and bashful Democrats gravitate toward his rants about drugs and homelessness—and the failure of polite progressivism to do anything about it.

Spencer Pratt
This is precisely the kind of unvarnished real talk about L.A.’s visible squalor that has propelled Pratt—the former MTV reality show villain turned hummingbird influencer turned Palisades fire victim—into unlikely contention in the mayoral race this spring. Photo: Roy Rochlin/Getty Images
Peter Hamby
May 14, 2026

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Last week, with their eyes on this year’s World Cup and the 2028 Olympics, Los Angeles officials celebrated a major new expansion of the city’s subway line—yes, we have a subway!—opening three new stops along Wilshire Boulevard and extending the rail line west toward UCLA. The D Line is a much-welcomed addition to the traffic-addled city, and a source of pride to the many civic leaders who took part in a victory lap.